Hostel Review: Buffalo HI Hostel

I flew into Buffalo on my way to the Toronto Film Festival. At that time it was cheaper to fly to Buffalo and catch a bus to Toronto, than it was to fly to Canada directly. From the Buffalo airport you can catch a bus downtown that connects with the local light-rail that runs through the city. The Buffalo HI hostel was a nice, friendly hostel conveniently located at one of the light-rail stops. Everything was going good at this hostel when I arrived. I went over to the Anchor Bar to sample the "Original" Buffalo wings, and I gave my extra wings to a guy that showed up after the kitchen closed. He was pretty friendly, and offered me some pot when the bar closed up. The area didn't seem all that safe, so I headed back to the hostel as quickly as possible. It wasn't until the next morning that I found out that the train outside would honk it's horn every time it passed the hostel. This was due to the train coming out a tunnel less than a block away. I had a bunk in the front room, and I couldn't sleep through that so I fell asleep in a bean bag chair in the basement of the hostel. I couldn't wait to get out of that hostel, and I caught a bus upto Toronto the following day.

The Buffalo HI Hostel was my first hostelling experience, and I haven't looked back ever since. The staff was very friendly, and I learned a valuable lesson about always bringing ear-plugs on my travels.

Note: I stayed in this hostel in Sept. 2002